Digital media playback capabilities may be incorporated into a wide range of devices, including digital televisions, including so-called “smart” televisions, set-top boxes, laptop or desktop computers, tablet computers, digital recording devices, digital media players, video gaming devices, cellular phones, including so-called “smart” phones, dedicated video streaming devices, and the like. Digital media content (e.g., video and audio programming) may originate from a plurality of sources including, for example, over-the-air television providers, satellite television providers, cable television providers, online media service providers, including, so-called streaming service providers, and the like. Digital media content may be transmitted from a source to a receiver device (e.g., a digital television or a smart phone) according to a transmission standard. Examples of transmission standards include Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standards, Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting Standards (ISDB) standards, and standards developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), including, for example, the ATSC 2.0 standard. The ATSC is currently developing the so-called ATSC 3.0 standard.
In defining how digital media content may be transmitted from a source to a receiver device, transmission standards may define one or more levels of abstraction. For example, data, including digital media, may originate in one of a plurality of packet structures. For example, digital video data may be encapsulated within a plurality of packets formatted according to a particular header and payload structure and data for an executable application may be encapsulated within a plurality of packets formatted according to another particular header and payload structure. Abstraction may include converting particular packet structures to a more generic packet structure. For example, an input file encapsulated within a particular packet structure may be appended with an additional header prior to transmission. In this manner, transmission standards may enable transmission of a variety of diverse data types. Current techniques for abstracting data may be less than ideal.